It is now possible to have two operating systems on Mac computer thanks to Boot Camp for Windows 7. It is a program designed for installing Windows 7 on a Mac computer. Key Features Disks manager: in order to make it possible to install.
Knowing what operating system is running on your computer, smartphone, or tablet help you troubleshoot issues and know your computer's or device's compatibilities. Apples itunes store. Below are the steps on how to determine what operating system is running on your computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Note- Apple computer All versions of the Apple Macintosh's operating systems (macOS) have an Apple menu, a small Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen. If you do not have this Apple logo on your screen, verify that you are using an Apple computer. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen.
- An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs. Nearly every computer program requires an operating system to function. The two most common operating systems are Microsoft Windows and Apple's macOS.
Before identifying an operating system, you must know what type of computer you have. For help with identifying a computer, see: How to find information about my computer. You can also use our system information tool to automatically detect your operating system.
For an overview of the features of the various versions of the Mac operating system, showing how it has developed over time, take a look at our video above. If you want to know the names Apple. Mac OS X is Apple's operating system for its line of Macintosh computers. Its interface, known as Aqua, is built on a Unix foundation. Although it has much of the look and feel of the former Mac OS, features such as preemptive multitasking, symmetric multiprocessing, multithreading, and protected memory give Mac OS X improved stability and performance.
IBM compatible (PC) computer
The majority of all IBM compatible (PC) users have Microsoft Windows installed on their computer. A good method of determining if you are running Microsoft Windows 95 or later is to look for the Start menu button in the bottom-left corner of your screen. If you see the Start menu button on your taskbar, you are running Microsoft Windows.
IBM compatible (PC) computer
The majority of all IBM compatible (PC) users have Microsoft Windows installed on their computer. A good method of determining if you are running Microsoft Windows 95 or later is to look for the Start menu button in the bottom-left corner of your screen. If you see the Start menu button on your taskbar, you are running Microsoft Windows.
If you do not see a Start button, it is likely you are running a different operating system. Below are some different visual indications to determine what operating system you are using. If you do not have any graphics or a GUI (graphical user interface) and only see text, skip to the command line section.
GUI operating system visual indicators
- A Microsoft Windows logo or Microsoft Windows flag but no start button often indicates an earlier version of Microsoft Windows, such as Microsoft Windows 3.11.
- A red hat in the corner of the screen - Computer is running Red Hat Linux.
- A green or blue 'L' in the corner of the screen - Computer is running Lindows or Linspire.
- A gray or black foot print in the corner of the screen you have GNOME running on a Linux or Unix variant.
- A purple background with any visual indication of 'Sun' or 'Solaris' is an indication of the SunSolaris operating system used with X Window System.
Command line operating system
If you only have text, you're at the command line, and can determine the operating system with any of the following commands.
NoteOn some systems, the command to view an operating and its version is disabled for security reasons. Also, not all operating systems have all of the following commands.
Note to Linux and Unix users: Often users running a Linux or Unix variant have a Linux variant with any number of graphic user interfaces. For example, you could be running Red Hat Linux using GNOME as the GUI. It is often better to use the console to determine what variant of Linux or Unix you are using. The uname command works with almost all variants of Linux and Unix.
If the uname command works and you need version information, type uname -a. Apple tv vlc alternative.
Additional information about the Linux version is found with the following commands, if the uname command is not available.
Visual identification
Finally, if you are in front of the computer, you can usually determine what operating system is on the computer by rebooting the computer. As the computer boots, it will indicate the operating system as it starts.
TipIf the screen is loading too fast, you can press the Pause key on the keyboard to pause the screen as it is loading.
Apple computer
All versions of the Apple Macintosh's operating systems (macOS) have an Apple menu, a small Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen. If you do not have this Apple logo on your screen, verify that you are using an Apple computer.
- Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen.
- In the Apple menu, click 'About this Mac' or 'About this Computer'
An Apple computer can also use Microsoft Windows through Boot Camp.
Apple iPhone and iPad
Knowing the version of the Apple iOS operating system on your iPhone or iPad help research and resolve issues that are specific to an iOS version. Follow the steps below to determine the iOS version on your Apple device.
- Access the Settings utility.
- Scroll down and tap the General option.
- Tap the About option.
- The iOS version on the device is listed in the Version line.
Android smartphone and tablet device
There are many different devices, including smartphones and tablets, that use the Android operating system. Follow the steps below to determine the version of Android OS on your Android device.
- Access the Settings utility.
- Find and tap the About phone or About device option.
- The version of Android OS is listed below the Android version entry.
Additional information
- See our operating system and version definitions for further information and related links.
When Apple introduced the Macintosh on Jan. 24, 1984, it wasn't the first computer to sport a graphical user interface (GUI) on top of its operating system (OS), but it was an early success in the consumer market. At the time, most consumer computers used text-based command lines. Computer owners had to learn numerous commands to navigate file systems and run applications. The Macintosh GUI seemed like a big leap ahead -- so much so that other companies began to invest in creating their own GUI OS.
Apple Operating System
A quick glimpse at today's Mac OS X reveals that the GUI is stronger than ever. But the current Mac operating system owes a lot to other computer projects, some of which weren't under Apple's leadership. To understand how OS X works, you have to know its history.
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Shortly after the debut of the Macintosh there was a power struggle in the executive levels of leadership at Apple. Co-founder Steve Jobs found himself pushed to the edges of the company and eventually resigned. In 1988, Jobs went on to spearhead a project he called the NeXT Computer, which ran on an operating system called NEXTSTEP. Meanwhile, Apple continued to develop the Mac operating system.
Ultimately, NeXT received little traction in the computer market, though it was used in some high-profile applications. For example, World Wide Web founder Tim Berners Lee designed the first Web page using a NeXT computer [source: CERN]. And the executive power struggle at Apple continued as the company struggled to remain relevant. It was facing stiff competition with Microsoft's Windows OS. Apple executives considered purchasing or leasing an operating system from several different sources, including IBM. Ultimately, a phone call from Steve Jobs to Apple convinced the company to acquire NeXT in order to use its OS in Mac computers. This meant Steve Jobs was once again part of Apple.
Apple began to incorporate NeXT technology with the Mac OS. Apple also began to integrate features from a failed internal OS project codenamed Copland. In September 1997, Jobs became the interim CEO of Apple. A year later, he announced that Mac OS X -- the 10th generation of the Macintosh operating system -- would debut in 1999. On March 16 of that year, Jobs revealed the first build of Mac OS X to a group of developers. While the technical name for the operating system is Mac OS X 10.0, the company gave it the codename Cheetah. Since that first release, all OS X versions have a big-cat nickname. The most recent version as of the writing of this article is Mac OS X 10.7, also known as Lion.
What Is The Operating System For Macbook Air
Now that we've got some basic history out of the way, let's take a quick look at what operating systems actually do.
